A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then the natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain.. This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines - they are a way of sowing to the Spirit.. By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done. . Richard J. Foster
About This Quote

The thought that the Spiritual Disciplines are a way of sowing to the Spirit is interesting, but the implication is that this process requires effort on our part. We must make an effort to activate the spiritual side of ourselves. The challenge is that, in most cases, we are unaware of this spiritual aspect of ourselves. Once we are aware, however, it becomes much easier to understand what needs to take place.

We are not helpless when it comes to cultivating the spiritual side of ourselves. We are just not always attentive to it or able to direct its effectiveness.

Source: Celebration Of Discipline: The Path To Spiritual Growth

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  2. Conversion does not make us perfect, but it does catapult us into a total experience of discipleship that affects - and infects - every sphere of our living.
  3. We do not have to have the correct answers to listen well. In fact, often the correct answers are a hindrance to listening well, for we become more anxious to give the correct answer than to hear.
  4. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.
  5. To conform to a sick society is to become sick.
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